How Habitat Escapes grew 53% revenue with their collection of exquisite outdoor homes in just one year using Rentals United
Habitat Escapes is a UK based property management company with exquisite outdoor homes
| N of properties connected | 115+ |
| Headquarter Location | United Kingdom |
| Tech Used | Rentals United + Elite Dynamics |
| Website | Visit Now |
Challenges
Limited reach: Relying solely on direct bookings meant missing out on high-value OTAs
Manual overload: Managing 115+ properties across multiple channels without automation
Limited growth: Expansion required unified channel management and PMS integration
Connecting Rentals United to our booking system Elite Dynamics provided us with the opportunity to advertise our holiday homes to a wider audience via partners such as Airbnb, Booking.com and VRBO. This increased marketing reach enables us to maximise our property bookings and revenue
Results
The results were immediate and measurable. After fully leveraging Rental United together with Elite Dynamics, Habitat Escapes achieved a 53% increase in total revenue in 2023 alone, and reported a 35–40% higher ADR (average daily rate) across key channels.
5
listing sites connected53%
Revenue Increase40%
Higher ADR
Habitat Escapes' story
Sustainability is shaping the way people travel and live. Nowhere is this clearer than in the world of luxury homes, where eco-conscious design is fast becoming a marker of true quality.
No-one understands this better than Habitat Escapes, the exclusive holiday rental brand for Habitat First Group, founded by the Paxton family in 1999 on the principle of creating holiday home communities that share a deep love for Mother Nature.
With more than 115 active rental properties across the rolling landscapes of The Cotswolds and Dorset, their estates combine ecology, architecture, and community to create holiday experiences surrounded by nature.
As demand for premium UK holidays surged post-pandemic, Habitat Escapes saw an opportunity to scale. The team wanted to reach new audiences across major OTAs, and to make that possible they needed a smarter, more integrated distribution strategy.
In order to achieve this, they had to overcome several key challenges.
The Challenge
Habitat Escapes’ business model focuses on luxury properties for families seeking outdoor adventures, while offering a range of features like spa experiences, fine dining and events. One of the benefits of this setup is the company’s strong direct booking channel, which allows it to avoid hefty commission fees, and retain more of its revenue.
However this comes at a cost. While a direct booking website is great for repeat business and revenue retention, it doesn’t offer nearly as much exposure as a multi-channel strategy.
Habitat Escape’s limited distribution model meant that they were unable to connect to channels like Plum Guide or Oliver’s Travels, which are the type of OTAs that would be important for them to scale effectively.
The difficulty with simply listing 115+ properties across multiple OTAs is obvious. It is a complex task, requiring time-consuming manual updates while syncing availability with their property management system, Elite Dynamics.
As well as being highly labour-intensive, manually syncing this many listings presents frequent opportunities to make potentially costly mistakes, through double bookings and pricing inconsistencies. Applying short-term promotions or last-minute discounts for this many properties manually would have been a real headache, and juggling guest communications across multiple channels while expanding internationally would be almost unmanageable.
The bottom line? Habitat Escapes needed a technology partner who could provide a unified channel management system enabling them to connect seamlessly with their property management system, Elite Dynamics, deliver consistent automation, and support their growth strategy with hands-on account management.
The Solution
Rentals United provided exactly that: a powerful, fully integrated channel management platform that connected Habitat Escapes’ Elite Dynamics PMS to the world’s largest OTAs including Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, as well as many niche channels targeted at their key client demographic such as Plum Guide, and Oliver’s Travels.
Through their partnership with Rentals United, the Habitat Escapes team gained:
- Real-time synchronisation of rates, availability, and content across 90+ channels
- Automated listing creation and updates, reducing manual data entry
- Performance analytics, offering insights into revenue trends and booking sources
- Unified inbox management, simplifying messaging into one centralized dashboard
- Automated guest communication, allowing instant, consistent and high quality replies
- And, crucially, strategic account support from Rentals United’s dedicated team
The combination of Rentals United’s automation and the strength of the Elite Dynamics integration allowed Habitat Escapes to expand their reach without increasing operational pressure.
The integration was smooth, and the support made all the difference. Habitat Escapes could now trust the data, focus on its guests, and let the platform handle the rest.
The Results
The results were immediate and measurable. After fully leveraging Rental United together with Elite Dynamics, Habitat Escapes achieved a 53% increase in total revenue in 2023 alone, and reported a 35–40% higher ADR (average daily rate) across key channels.
Occupancy rose steadily, driven by new visibility on international platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, and VRBO, while the team’s internal workload remained at a manageable level, due to streamlined automation of listing syncing and guest communication across platforms – all without sacrificing the guest experience that defines the brand.
Much of this success has been supported by Rentals United’s proactive account management team, which has played a key role in troubleshooting connection issues, offering tailored strategic advice, and identifying opportunities for growth.
Rentals United has helped Habitat Escapes future-proof their distribution strategy, by making it easy to test new channels, analyze performance in real time, and adjust pricing dynamically. This has opened new opportunities for long-term growth, while helping them to stay competitive, agile, and continuously optimized in an evolving short-term rental market.